Northumberland News - March 2021

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LOCAL BUSINESS SHOP LOCAL. SHOP NORTHUMBERLAND. As our town centres and communities start to reopen there are lots of different ways you can continue to support our businesses. By choosing to Shop Local, Shop Northumberland you can help the local economy in recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. From April 12, non-essential retailers will be able to reopen as well as self-contained accommodation, most outdoor attractions as well as indoor leisure facilities. Instead of travelling miles to shop in one of the giant retailers, why not stay closer to home and take advantage of the independent businesses on your doorstep. Statistics show that for every £1 spent with a local, independent business, between 50p-70p circulates back into that local economy. This not only helps to support the businesses, but also jobs in the local area as well as suppliers. Independent retailers and small businesses need our support now more than ever. There are lots of ways you can still support your local high street: • Choose to Shop Local on your local high street, using independent retailers as much as possible. • Buy your local produce from butchers, farm shops or local markets. In this way you’ll also be supporting local farmers. • Find out if they are offering an online shop. • Find out if they are offering a click and collect service. • If you have a birthday or a special occasion why not ask friends and family for vouchers for your favourite local shop, restaurant, bookshop or hotel. • Support local businesses on social media. Share, Like and Follow their posts and add recommendations. SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS: You could also join the Northumberland Let’s Keep Supporting Local Businesses Facebook page. Set-up by Chrissie Havis of Morpeth, just before Christmas, the group is bringing together businesses and shoppers in the county. It continues to grow with more than 18k followers. There’s also the Produced in Northumberland initiative where you can find out about local producers in your area: producedin.northumberland.gov.uk 8 www.northumberland.gov.uk
BUSINESS SUPPORT NORTHUMBERLAND BUSINESS HUB At the start of the Covid-19 outbreak the council and partner organisations quickly established the Northumberland Business Hub – a central resource which is there to support companies and employees in the county throughout the pandemic and beyond. As well as details of all of the business grants, the Hub provides a wide range of information, advice and guidance including: • Working safely during coronavirus • Training, recruitment and redundancy • Other types of financial support available Find full details at www.northumberland.gov.uk/businesshub LOCAL BUSINESSES RECEIVE SUPPORT GRANTS TO HELP THEM THROUGH PANDEMIC Around 30,000 grants totalling nearly £138 million have been paid to businesses in Northumberland to support them through the coronavirus pandemic in the past year. venues, visitor attractions and personal care services. Councils have also been allocated additional funding to support other sectors in their areas which have been severely affected, and this money is to cover financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22. There have been wide-ranging implications for many businesses in the county, as some have been required to close due to legal restrictions, while others have been able to stay open, but how they can operate has been severely impacted by Covid-19. The Government has announced a number of support schemes and provided funding to councils to deliver these to businesses in their areas. In the first lockdown, in Spring 2020, the council paid out £94.418 million to 8,426 businesses in small business, retail, hospitality and leisure, and also local discretionary grants. Since November 2020 council teams have been delivering a further range of restrictions support grants as well as grants providing support for specific sectors which have been particularly badly hit. Up to the date of publication, 20,893 grants have been paid totalling £40.428 million. Grant schemes have largely been targeted at businesses in the hospitality, hotel, bed and breakfast and leisure sectors, as well as at those which were required by law to close, including non-essential retail, leisure and sports facilities, entertainment Northumberland has worked with other councils in the North East, to ensure that in the main there is consistency in the types of business which can be supported. This additional funding has already helped many businesses in the hospitality, accommodation and leisure sectors which don’t pay business rates, and also those which directly supply these sectors. In late February the council launched a further grant from this additional funding pot – the Business Resilience Grant. This grant aims to support some of the companies which have not been eligible for previous schemes, but which are still liable for business rates and have ongoing fixed property costs. For more details of all the grants available visit www.northumberland.gov.uk/businessgrants www.northumberland.gov.uk 9
Page 1 and 2: MARCH 2021 INVESTING IN NORTHUMBERL
Page 3 and 4: INSIDE FOREWORD 4-5 6-7 8 9 10-11 1
Page 5 and 6: FOUR-STEP PLAN REMEMBER...IT’S NO
Page 7: RECOVERY WITH A PLEDGE TO HALF THE
Page 11 and 12: COUNTRY PARKS ALONG WITH OUR COUNTR
Page 13 and 14: INVESTMENT We’re not resting on o
Page 15 and 16: COMMUNITY EVERYONE WILL BENEFIT FRO
Page 17 and 18: Quick wins Cycle, walk or scoot to
Page 19 and 20: COMMUNITY Northumberland Communitie
Page 21 and 22: COVID VACCINE MYTH BUSTING The Covi
Page 23 and 24: EDUCATION NORTHUMBERLAND GETS CREAT

Northumberland News - March 2021

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